Lochhead Meets BBC Food & Farming Awards Finalist

The cream of the food and drink crop from across Scotland has been recognised in the final shortlist of the BBC Food & Farming Awards 2011.

Four of the finalists hail from Scotland and Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead met one of them, Carol McMath, in her kitchen at Kibble Education and Care Centre, Paisley.

Carol has been nominated for her work in the centre, cooking up tasty and healthy food for the young residents of the secure unit. She works with the school council to create a varied menu and holds taster sessions with young people to sample the dishes before they make it onto the dining room table.

Mr Lochhead said: "It is a pleasure to meet Carol and her team, to see and taste the good work she is doing in providing wholesome nutritious meals for some of our most vulnerable young people.

"We are keen to give young people the opportunity to learn more about where the food on their plate comes from and by involving them in the market garden here at Kibble, this is helping to teach them healthy and sustainable choices for life.

"I'd like to congratulate Carol and all the other Scottish nominees for making it through to the final of the BBC Food & Farming Awards. This is a great testament to the quality of Scotland's food and drink and I wish them all the best for next week's final and every success for the future."

Carol McMath, who has worked in the industry for 28 years, puts her success down to listening to her clients' needs and careful planning of a varied menu.

She said: "I find it very rewarding to provide good wholesome food for young people who need it most. My Granny was a fantastic baker and cook and she inspired me to go into a job in catering.

"I've worked at Kibble now for almost five years and can see the positive effect my food has on the young people's moods. They are trying new and unfamiliar food, such as fish pie, and will eat their vegetables if I make them interesting enough.

"They like trying new food as everyone is involved in the food I serve up through the school council tasting sessions, which helps to create a tasty nutritious menu.

"The most rewarding part of my job is seeing the boys and girls enjoying their food, so to be nominated for this award is just the icing on the cake. It is nice to be recognised by others for doing a job I enjoy."

In addition, Carol works with the in-house nurse to ensure adequate calorie and nutrient intake and, crucially, to encourage the young people to eat food that does not exacerbate behavioural problems.

Carol also insists on using the best local producers where possible, for products such as meat and fish. Fresh salad and vegetables are guaranteed, as they are grown a mere 50 yards from the kitchen, and Carol meets with the head gardener regularly to enable her to plan seasonal menus, utilising as much of the produce as possible.

The other Scottish finalists are Golspie Mill, Sutherland and Loch Arthur Creamery, Dumfries (Best Food Producer), and the Hebridean distiller Bruichladdich, Islay (Best Drinks Producer).

Golspie Mill owner Michael Shaw said: "Just to be nominated for the BBC Food & Farming Awards is an honour, as it shows customers really appreciate our products. Therefore to be selected as a finalist is fantastic and I'm looking forward to the finals.

"Flours and meals from Golspie Mill go all over the country through our network of wholesalers, so I can never be sure where they end up. I'm just pleased that they are being enjoyed and it shows what matching traditional production methods with top-quality produce can achieve."

Barry Graham of Loch Arthur Creamery said: "Over the 25 years that we have been developing and producing our range of renowned artisan cheeses at Loch Arthur we have won a remarkable array of awards, but this has been an exceptional year for us.

"Firstly, we came home with two of the top awards at this year's British Cheese Awards and we are now one of the three finalists nominated for Best Producer of the Year at the BBC Awards.

"This is an incredible honour for any business but more so in our special circumstances as a social enterprise engaging adults with learning disabilities in a variety of meaningful and much valued employment.

"And all of this in a year when we are in the throws of building our new farm shop and cafe - an exciting, ambitious and forward-looking project towards which we received substantial financial support via the Scotland Rural Development Programme.

"After 25 years of commitment to a social enterprise helping to put local, artisan food production on the map in Dumfries and Galloway, this feels like a breakthrough year and something to be very proud of."

Bruichladdich's managing director, Mark Reynier, said: "As progressive Hebridean distillers, I am delighted that Bruichladdich is a finalist in the BBC's 2011 Best Drinks Company category. I am very pleased for Islay and everyone at Bruichladdich.

"From our pioneering Islay Barley Series to the landmark Bruichladdich Organic, we produce a fine array of whiskies, therefore it's surprisingly this nomination is for The Botanist Islay Gin.

"There may be poetic justice though, as the original whisky was usually flavoured with hillside botanicals to improve the taste and as a clear spirit it was probably more like gin than single malt whisky we know today."

As part of the BBC Radio Four Food & Farming Awards 2011, the Best Dinner Lady/Public Caterer category recognises cooks who are making mealtimes a delight in schools, hospitals, care homes and other public-sector institutions, preparing healthy and tasty food on the premises using fresh, carefully sourced ingredients.

Richard Corrigan, BBC chair of judges, said: "The finalists on this list are cooks, farmers and food producers who all, in their own way, reflect where Britain is today, and what it can be in the future.

"We have school cooks who believe the meals they serve each day are helping to change the lives of young people, and food and drinks producers working hard to save some of our greatest craft skills and artisinal traditions.

"I grew up in a farming family and always understood the power of being connected with the land, with livestock and with people who were proud to play a role in feeding their community.

"Few of us are lucky to have that connection today and for that reason these awards are invaluable for one simple reason: they help reconnect people with the story of the best of British food, where it comes from, how's it's made and who makes it.

"We boast some of the world's best farmers, food producers and food entrepreneurs and so I hope when people hear more about the stories on this shortlist they'll understand why it gives me some optimism for our future."

The BBC Food & Farming Awards will be presented at the BBC Good Food Show at the NEC, Birmingham, on Wednesday, November 23.

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